A ramble round racism

 Coming fresh from viewing today's PMQs, this is going to be even less coherent than usual, for which apologies. Prime Minister Johnson, given the opportunity several times to apologise for comments made by himself and his Home Secretary before the Euro 2020 finals, declined to do so. Instead, he merely offered the prospect of banning people found guilty of racist abuse from attending football matches and of merely holding talks with the executives of social media companies. Johnson will no doubt justify his stance on the grounds of "action, not words", but he should recognise that those words caused much damage, as Aston Villa and England centre-back Tyrone Mings was quick to point out.

I hear what Priti Patel says about "taking the knee". However, it is more than a gesture; it is a signal, that football rejects racism. It has clearly been necessary as the torrent of abuse spewed at Rashford, Sancho and Saka on the Web sadly demonstrates. I have two worries: that it will continue unchanged through next season, becoming no more than a ritual; and that it is not inclusive. 

Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha, who has more than most suffered abuse because of his skin colour, has already declined to participate. He said before the end of the last Premier League season: "me personally I feel kneeling has just become a part of the pre-match routine and at the moment it doesn’t matter whether we kneel or stand, some of us still continue to receive abuse. I know there is a lot of work being done behind the scenes at the Premier League and other authorities to make change, and I fully respect that, and everyone involved. I also fully respect my team-mates and players at other clubs who continue to take the knee. As a society, I feel we should be encouraging better education in schools, and social media companies should be taking stronger action against people who abuse others online - not just footballers." I would urge football authorities to be inventive, inviting ideas from players, managers and directors, to come up with fresh means of demonstrating at each match that the football family abhors racism.

The appointment of Patrick Vieira as manager of Palace has been taken as a positive sign. However, there have been "black" managers in the English leagues before. Ruud Gullit managed both Chelsea and Newcastle United. Both were short stints, though he did not appear to do much wrong. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has managed lower league sides Burton Albion, Northampton Town and Queens Park Rangers and is now back with Burton. He has not managed to break through at the top level. All three came up as players through continental systems. There is only one home-grown black manager (if one discounts Ryan Giggs), Chris Powell. He too did not find a permanent berth, even though he achieved a promotion with Charlton Athletic. Powell is clearly respected as a coach, currently serving in that capacity for England and for the Tottenham Hotspur Academy, but he is not going to be a visible symbol of the advance of racial integration at the top level. Perhaps that presence will come from one of the articulate graduates of the women's game, Alex Scott, Eniola Aluko or Rachel Yankey.

It is not just players of Afro-Caribbean heritage who suffer abuse and discrimination. I doubt that Neil Taylor or Yan Dhanda, who have been mentioned on this blog before, think of themselves as "black". There have been to the best of my knowledge only four players with Chinese parents in English football since World War 2, and the abuse which to my knowledge followed one of them may have been a factor dissuading others from signing professional forms. The "knee" directly recalls the fatal treatment of George Floyd. We need a more inclusive symbol.

There were apparently plans to mount a reception for the England squad at No. 10 Downing Street after the Euro final. These were cancelled, at the behest of the FA according to Arj Singh and Chloe Chaplain of the i newspaper. This was a mistake, in my opinion. The opportunity should have been taken to face down the abuse and recognise a remarkable England team which over-achieved in reaching the cup final and surviving for ninety minutes against a world-class Italian side. It will appear as if the "blazers" of Soho Square have disowned those who failed only narrowly and Johnson will get away with his nudges and winks of racism to his hard-core supporters.